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The hair is a thicket, part Madonna, part Medusa. The voice is an anarchic jazz trumpet on a sardonic riff. The body moves like a Tasmanian devil. The mind faster still. Is it a comedian? Is it a performance artist? Able to leap middling distinctions in a single bound, it's Reno!
Although critics have called her "the Madonna of comedy," and "a combination of Bette Midler and Lenny Bruce," Reno's not certain what to call herself. She dislikes being classified as a comedian, since she perceives a movement in many comedy clubs towards real racism, sexism and bigotry. On the other hand, "performance artist" sounds cloyingly hip, precious and inaccessible.
As she stands poised to make the move from fringe off-Broadway venues to national exposure in a November HBO special, it's probably safe to call her a star-to-be. Since she's making a rare foray into the heartland this week at Ruby's Cabaret in Minneapolis, following a sell-out gig there last month, it's probably best to see her and judge for yourself.
Reno's a storyteller, purveyor of the news of the day, bearer of good and bad tidings. Her current...